USB Drive Letter Assignment

  • Thread starter Thread starter Richard In Va.
  • Start date Start date
R

Richard In Va.

Hello All,

Is it possible to configure a USB thumb drive to demand a certain drive
letter, such as " U:\ " when it's plugged in?

Thanks for any help!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++
 
If you mean "when it is plugged in" to mean a PC that has never seen it
before? Or when ever it is plugged into a PC that it's been in before?
The former will require some creative Autorun programing, for the latter
a utility from Uwe Sieber should do it.
 
Richard In Va. said:
Hello All,

Is it possible to configure a USB thumb drive to demand a certain drive
letter, such as " U:\ " when it's plugged in?

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

Yes. Simply assign the drive letter in drive manager in the usual manner
(right click 'My Computer' select 'Manage' and then 'Drive Manager'.

However, be aware: that unless the thumb drive is electronically serial
numbered, that the drive letter only sticks if the drive is plugged into the
same physical port.
 
Thanks M.I.5,

If I do as you suggest, what happens when I plug the USB drive into a
different PC, repeat same for each PC?

I have 2 PC's at home, (at least) 1 at work, and several USB thumb drives
that I use. It's easy enough to give each drive a label so they are easier
to keep up with in windows explorer. But each PC has different fixed-drive
combinations, so the USB drive letter will vary.

I'm wanting to use an automatic copy/backup batch file to maintain mirrored
copies on multiple PC's. The batch routine depends on drive letters, not
drive labels.

Anyway... that's why I'm asking.


Thanks again!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++
 
Richard In Va. said:
Thanks M.I.5,

If I do as you suggest, what happens when I plug the USB drive into a
different PC, repeat same for each PC?

I have 2 PC's at home, (at least) 1 at work, and several USB thumb drives
that I use. It's easy enough to give each drive a label so they are
easier to keep up with in windows explorer. But each PC has different
fixed-drive combinations, so the USB drive letter will vary.

I'm wanting to use an automatic copy/backup batch file to maintain
mirrored copies on multiple PC's. The batch routine depends on drive
letters, not drive labels.

Anyway... that's why I'm asking.
Click to expand...

I'm not completely clear what you are trying to achieve.

You will have to assign a drive letter on each PC, but that drive letter
will only stick for that thumb drive. Any other thumb drive (unless of
exactly the same type and not serial numbered) will have to be allocated a
specific drive letter separately.
 
Thanks M.I.5, I believe that answers my question.

I just want one of my USB thumb drives to always use the same drive letter,
maybe U:\ . This way, regardless of any other usb thumb drives that get
"auto" assigned a drive letter when plugged in, my U:\ drive will always be
U:\.

Sometimes I have more than one usb drive plugged in at a time.... no telling
which one I'll plug in first. So when I execute the batch file that backs
stuff up to U:\, U drive will always be the correct usb thumb drive.

I use xxcopy in a DOS batch file to mirror contents from one drive (or
folder) to another... a shortcut on the desktop and it's done in about 20
seconds. But it goes by drive letter, not drive label.

Thanks again!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++
 
Back
Top